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Kaalbye case dismissed

Ukrainian owner Kaalbye Shipping International has failed in a US defamation bid after a row over arms shipping accusations.

Judge Thomas Motley, sitting in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, ruled the case must be dismissed because a report by Washington think-tank Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) “furthers the right of advocacy on an issue of public concern and defendant has failed to demonstrate that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its defamation claims.”

Kaalbye denied media reports based on the study last year that linked it to military cargo shipments to Syria using a specific ship.

The company said it had been vindicated after the Washington Post published a correction, saying it had "incorrectly described details about the operation of a Ukrainian cargo vessel highlighted in a feature about military aid to Syria."

Kaalbye said the article falsely claimed the 8,100–dwt Ocean Fortune (built 2010) turned off its transponder during a voyage in the eastern Mediterranean and that it called in Syria.

However, the US court ruling said Kaalbye admitted it had transported military cargo to Syria in 2012 on a different vessel.

It added: “Kaalbye voluntarily and openly participated in the international arms-shipping market for a period of years prior to the publication of the report in September of 2013.

“Kaalbye has admitted that, in 2012, it transported military cargo to Syria and that it has previously shipped arms to other conflict areas, including Angola.”

The judgement said although Kaalbye contended that the report implied that it turned off its AIS transponders, a close reading of the report indicated that C4ADS only acknowledges that this explanation is a possibility.

“To whatever extent the report reflects an opinion by C4ADS that Kaalbye vessels turning off their AIS transponders is the most likely explanation for the data presented in the report, that opinion would not be actionable,” it added.

The court also found C4ADS neither stated nor implied that Kaalbye is operating any of its vessels in an unsafe manner.

Kaalbye did not respond to TradeWinds' request for comment on the ruling.

However, in a response to TradeWinds earlier in the trial, it confirmed Ocean Fortune never visited Syria, but said another of its ships called there “only once with a dual-purpose cargo on board in 2012.”

It added: “Moreover the vessels under Kaalbye Shipping management have never turned AIS off during any voyages, since the company maintains high safety standards.”

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Kaalbye case dismissed

Ukrainian owner Kaalbye Shipping International has failed in a US defamation bid after a row over arms shipping accusations.

Judge Thomas Motley, sitting in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, ruled the case must be dismissed because a report by Washington think-tank Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) “furthers the right of advocacy on an issue of public concern and defendant has failed to demonstrate that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its defamation claims.”

Kaalbye denied media reports based on the study last year that linked it to military cargo shipments to Syria using a specific ship.

The company said it had been vindicated after the Washington Post published a correction, saying it had "incorrectly described details about the operation of a Ukrainian cargo vessel highlighted in a feature about military aid to Syria."

Kaalbye said the article falsely claimed the 8,100–dwt Ocean Fortune (built 2010) turned off its transponder during a voyage in the eastern Mediterranean and that it called in Syria.

However, the US court ruling said Kaalbye admitted it had transported military cargo to Syria in 2012 on a different vessel.

It added: “Kaalbye voluntarily and openly participated in the international arms-shipping market for a period of years prior to the publication of the report in September of 2013.

“Kaalbye has admitted that, in 2012, it transported military cargo to Syria and that it has previously shipped arms to other conflict areas, including Angola.”

The judgement said although Kaalbye contended that the report implied that it turned off its AIS transponders, a close reading of the report indicated that C4ADS only acknowledges that this explanation is a possibility.

“To whatever extent the report reflects an opinion by C4ADS that Kaalbye vessels turning off their AIS transponders is the most likely explanation for the data presented in the report, that opinion would not be actionable,” it added.

The court also found C4ADS neither stated nor implied that Kaalbye is operating any of its vessels in an unsafe manner.

Kaalbye did not respond to TradeWinds' request for comment on the ruling.

However, in a response to TradeWinds earlier in the trial, it confirmed Ocean Fortune never visited Syria, but said another of its ships called there “only once with a dual-purpose cargo on board in 2012.”

It added: “Moreover the vessels under Kaalbye Shipping management have never turned AIS off during any voyages, since the company maintains high safety standards.”